Pattayapope, I hope you are right. I would be thrilled to see that I only need six meter or less. (none would be even better) The last time I was in Thailand, we were discussing the build with some potential contractors and relatives. Most all of the were pretty sure piles would have to be used because the land was mostly a rice field for years and then restructured into fish ponds. We filled in one of the ponds to build on so I know we will have to place footers beyond the fill depth. I went to price piles with my brother-in-law and the company (claiming to have records indicating a need). A representative arrived and looked at the land then called some of his crew working at a site about 2 miles away and asked how deep they were going. They told him 18 meters so that’s were we left it. RR and BKKBill said to check with the engineer at the Or Bor Tor because conditions are could vary even in a short distance. Need to do this and verify if we really need them. The correct procedure would be to do bore hole testing but everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. (maybe their right)

Alan wrote:RR and BKKBill said to check with the engineer at the Or Bor Tor because conditions are could vary even in a short distance. Need to do this and verify if we really need them. The correct procedure would be to do bore hole testing but everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. (maybe their right)

Alan,I had piles that ranged from 16 metres to 27 metres in the space of 33 metres, which the Or Bor Tor (and Tesaban) warned me about before I started. I also put in 51 piles, which on consideration was not overkill for what it supports at the moment, and might finish up supporting in the future. Do not scrimp and save with the foundations of a house.

RodgerRamjet: thanks for the confirmation. I can't imagine going 20+ meter but if required done. Will definitely check with the Or Bor Tor (and Tesaban) whoever that is to make sure. It is quite a difference in price and I definitely do not want to skimp on foundation.Thanks, Alan

Back to concrete strengths:Some examples of Concrete compressive strengths:-2500PSI concrete may be used in driveways, walkways, and even floor slabs on grade. This concrete is usually the cheapest available from batch plants. Used on solidly compacted fill material (subgrade), this concrete performs satisfactorily for these projects, but many professional concrete workers prefer a higher strength product due to warranty concerns, and some building codes may not allow its use for all of these applications.-3000PSI concrete in many locations is a standard multipurpose mixture for general use in construction. It is durable, has sufficient cement to give it good finishing characteristics, and can be placed fairly wet without sacrificing quality.-3500PSI concrete is used for applications where surface spalling is not acceptable, and significant loading is expected. One example would be paving curbs, where heavy traffic may drive on the surface. Other uses include building footings, bond beams, grade beams, and floor slabs where heavy loads may be moved or stored.-4000PSI concrete is used for heavy traffic pavement, heavy use floor slabs like shops and warehouses, and concrete footings designed to support heavy loads.-5000PSI and higher concrete mixes are usually used for specialized construction projects where high impact resistances, very low wear rates, or extreme conditions are expected.I will probably go with 3000 psi concrete for most of the construction.

Sisaketdreaming, after searching around a bit I did find that Thailand is “teaching” standards. See the following link: http://www.sut.ac.th/engineering/civil/ ... oting1.pdfThis is an engineering school. I did not see a standard referenced but I know they are using them. Lots of calculations but the final product is an engineered design. That’s why we pay to have Architects & Engineers provide the specifications and put their stamp on it. There is no “standard” footer, column or beam. It has to be calculated. I believe my footing designs are appropriate. As I said before, these are preliminary designs waiting for verification from a Thai engineer.

Roger, thanks for the link. Lots of information on pile types, requirements and hazards. I think I am still going with the “bam bam” style piles. Nearest structure is 30-40 meters away. We will see what effect it has. (it's a relative) ha.

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) is the governing agency for all concrete construction in the U.S. It was established in 1904 to serve and represent user interests in the field of concrete. Referred to as cover distance, the required minimum cover distance is obtained from ACI 318-05 “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.”As indicated in my preliminary designs, I think using 8cm coverage for everything underground is appropriate. I believe this standard is taught and used as a standard in Thailand.

Having watched a 20 ton digger push piles into the ground near me I was suitably impressed or disappointed from lifting vertical a ten meter pile to untying the finished pile was under 5 mins the disappointment was its very close to my house so the ground is not good The impressed was the skill at which the team were working one guy doing the tying one guy doing the guiding because there was a wall blocking the machine operators view d-During a conversation (through third party) they were not hitting solid at ten meters so the piles were being placed at one meter centers and would rely on friction I suppose Having seen drilled piles and bang bang piles I think this would have been the way to go if they extended the depth but at ten meters the machine was showing no sign of struggling it was using low rpm and if it had hit resistance you would expect the machine to show some sign of liftingWith reference to the bang bang piles there are four machines working behind Fashion Island Ram Intra they are pushing the first 14-15 meters of round tube a couple of foot across into the ground inside the tube is an auger when roughly half way down the second section of pile they start the auger turning for the last five or so meters then comes the bang bang from around 300 meters on fifth floor of the car park you can feel every hit and the piles are around 1.5 meters apart in batches of thirty or so rumouris a multi story car park is to be built there I am guessing there is going to be a lot of crack filling later to the surrounding buildings houses/condo,s I would not like to be livng near there that a certaintyEven a relative is likely to get upset when you break his / her house

my comments may be wrong but never deliberatelyIf it aint broke, dont fix it

Geordie,! As a matter of interest, have you any knowledge or experience as far as Raft Slab foundations are concerned which I believe used to be the way to go when building on marshy ground in some countries.

So in my attempt to find the load each footer will be supporting, I took my 4 meter grid and broke it down into load types expected to be supported by the columns. I started with a column on the corner designating them as an "A" column. Should end up with at least 4 of these. This post is for the roofing material only. There are several components if you do it this way that will have to be combined to reach an ultimate load for the footer. This is not exact but my best attempt to be accurate. obviously a few things are unknown at this time.